Is Among Us Safe for Kids?

Among Us is a mega popular online game, at one point even beating out Roblox to become the most-downloaded mobile game on both Android and iOS. Although its popularity has waned slightly since then, it remains a fan favorite. But if your child is asking to play the game, you may be wondering, “Is Among Us safe for kids?” That’s why we’ve compiled this handy guide to answer that question for you. 

What is Among Us?

Among Us is a space-themed, multiplayer online strategy game. The players are colorful, bulbous cartoon astronauts on a mission. Players take on the role of either a crewmate whose mandate is to perform tasks related to the mission or an imposter whose sole purpose is to sabotage the mission and destroy the crew. 

Among Us age rating

The game is best for kids ages 10 and older due to the violent premise of the game and the open chat feature, although supervised play may be okay for slightly younger children. Both the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Common Sense Media give Among Us an age rating of 10+. 

Language in Among Us

Because there’s no dialogue, parents don’t need to worry about inappropriate language in the game itself. However, because there is a chat feature, kids may be exposed to inappropriate language from other players in comments or character names. However, you can use parental controls to filter out inappropriate chat content, and usernames are somewhat moderated. 

Is there sex and nudity in Among Us?

There is no sex or nudity in Among Us. In fact, the players never even take off those adorable little space suits.  

Is there violence in Among Us?

The entire goal of the imposters in the game is to murder crew members or sabotage equipment in order to kill them. The murders in particular are often quite violent, such as snapping necks or stabbing. And there’s no pretending the crewmates faced any other fate but death, considering the bodies are left behind and ghosts of killed players can be found floating around. While the actions are rather gory, no blood is shown, and the cartoonish nature of the game does temper the impact of the violence. 

Does Among Us have parental controls?

The game does have parental controls, but only for children under the age of 13. Parents can access this feature through the Inner Sloth Parental Portal. Here are the notable options that parents can control: 

• Free-Text Chat vs. Quick Chat: By default, kid accounts are set to Quick Chat, which means they can only select from a preset list when using the chat feature. Using the Parental Portal, parents can elect to give their child the Free-Text option, allowing them to type in the chat box. It should be noted that, even if your child is only allowed to use Quick Chat, other users can still message them using Free-Text. 
• Custom display name: The default option for kids is a randomly-assigned display name. You can give your child permission to select their own display name. While these are moderated to exclude inappropriate language or personal information, no moderation is foolproof, so it’s a good idea to check your child’s display name if you have concerns. 
• Friends list: If you want your child to be able to add users to a friend list and be added to other players' friend lists, you must give them permission. This allows them to send and accept invitations to game lobbies. Creating private lobbies and inviting friends is a great way to eliminate any concern that a stranger may try and message your child through the game. 
• Sensor chat: Use this to prevent your child from receiving messages with bad language or violent content. 

BrightCanary can monitor the messages your child sends on Among Us. The app uses advanced technology to analyze what they send and alerts you in real-time when they encounter something concerning. Even better, you can use BrightCanary to monitor Snapchat, Discord, Roblox, and any other app they use on Apple devices.

Is Among Us a scary game?

Because of the violent premise of the game and the murders acted out on screen, Among Us may be scary for particularly sensitive kids. However, it’s not intended to be a horror game, the characters are not particularly humanlike, and the violence is cartoonish, all of which minimize the fear-factor. 

Final thoughts

Despite the violent premise and open chat feature, Among Us remains relatively safe for children over the age of 10. Parents should utilize the parental control features for additional peace of mind and monitor their child's activity with a child safety app like BrightCanary.

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